


What Happens In Vegas

by LauraRoslinForever



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Cause everyone needs a what happens in Vegas fic, Even Kabby, F/M, Kabby, Kabby AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-02
Updated: 2019-06-06
Packaged: 2019-07-24 00:55:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 19,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16170287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LauraRoslinForever/pseuds/LauraRoslinForever
Summary: For the last two years, life has been good for Abigail Walters. Even though she's divorced and living on the West Coast with her mother, she's still happy. Except now, she has a problem. Her best friend, Callie, is getting married. And, of course, her ex-husband is invited, and Callie's fiance, Thelonious', best man just happens to be the one who told Abby her husband was cheating on her. For Marcus Kane, he has been living in his own corner of paradise. Content as any man can be with a thriving law practice and his own private beach. However, when his best friend calls and asks him to be his best man, he can hardly refuse. Even if it means seeing the woman he's been in love with for, oh, nearly half his life. Both are faced with spending a week together, but will they be able to put their past behind them for their friends... or for better or worse?





	1. Chapter 1

Abby hated Las Vegas. She hated the dry, insufferable heat. The crowds of people. The drinking, gambling, and mob mentality. But most of all, she hated it because it was home. Memories of where she met her ex-husband and started the life they made there for nineteen years. But she loved her best friend. And her best friend wanted a wedding at home. Wanted it to be at the same hotel where she met her husband-to-be. Wanted Abby to be her maid-of-honor. 

So of course, she said yes.

Which was why she was there, checking in to The Venetian where Thelonious reserved those in the wedding party each a room all on the same floor. Her eyes drifted around the foyer and lobby. There was only one other person she knew involved in the wedding other than the bride and groom. Avoiding him would be impossible. As Thelonious’ best friend and man, they would be included in all aspects of the wedding and day activities leading up to it, including meeting the happy couple for dinner later that night.

“Enjoy your stay, Miss Jennings,” the front desk attendant, Gina, told her with a beaming smile.

Abby returned the young girl’s smile. “Thank you.” 

She took her room card and made her way over to the elevator. Pulling her phone from her pocket, she sent a quick text to Callie.  _ I'm here and on my way up to change. _

_ Yay! Hope you like your room. Theo went all out. We'll be there as soon as we can! Can't wait to hug you, darling!!  _

_ You too and I'm sure I will. The price they charge you for a week here could pay my rent. _

_ Nothing but the best for my girl.  _

Abby shook her head and stuck her phone back into her pocket. The bellman had already taken up her bags. 

Inside her room, Abby gaped. To her left was a grand king size bed with a large ornate headboard, then down three steps, a separate living room with not one but two couches, table and chairs, desk, and mini fridge. The light brown walls had thick, white framing, and a large bay window of the Strip. She dropped her purse on the bed, and thought, _ Nice job, Thelonious.  _ Running her hand along the edge of the bed, Abby wandered down the steps and to her right, into a bathroom that was the size of the living room. 

Dark blue marble counter top vanity and double sink, a closet filled with white fluffy towels and bathrobes. And what really caught her attention, a large roman tub. A little deeper and it might as well be a pool. She’d be using that later tonight for sure. 

With a longing sigh, she left the bathroom and made her way back up the stairs to where her bags had been placed in the closet by the bed. Lifting her suitcase, she unzipped it and began removing her things. She had brought a variety of dresses, all of which she frowned at as she removed them. They would all need to be steamed as most had wrinkled on her trip. A few pairs of jeans, a few tee-shirts, for the downtime between rehearsals, family gatherings, and bachelorette party as maid of honor that she was forced to attend. Then her underwear that consisted of black and red lace and silk. She may have been single, it may have been years since she’d had sex, but that didn’t mean she didn’t like to still feel sexy sometimes. 

And why not this week?

It was Las Vegas. After all, what happened in Vegas stayed in Vegas, right? It wasn’t as though she had someone in mind because she didn’t. Not really. Oh, who was she kidding? She wasn’t that type of girl. She couldn’t throw herself into bed with a complete stranger even if she wanted to. Taking the only wrinkle-free dress form her bag, she held it up in front of her. The black material clung to her shape and revealed just enough for the right person to notice and those who didn’t care to, not. 

She could wear it tonight. It was dinner with Thelonious, Callie, and Marcus. She hadn’t seen him in, well, since the day she discovered her husband in their bed with the woman he’d been cheating on her with for a little over a year. Almost three years now. 

It wasn’t that she hadn’t been grateful that he’d come to her job to tell her about Jake’s activities. But it had been complicated. Two weeks before, Jake had met with Marcus for drinks and to catch up while Marcus was in town working on a case. Jake had come home that night upset and sporting a nice blossoming bruise on his cheek. He told her he and Marcus had gotten into an argument over her. Marcus had admitted to Jake that he was in love with Abby and Jake had hit him first. 

For the next two weeks, Abby avoided every call to her cell and her office. If Marcus thought that she would leave her husband, he had another thing coming. Then unexpectedly, in the middle of her shift at the hospital, there he was. His hair had grown out a bit since she last saw him five years previous and, instead of clean shaved, had a well-trimmed beard. She hadn’t recognized him right away or she would have turned and walked away from him. But she hadn’t, and before she knew it, she and he were almost nose to nose as he told her what really happened that night. 

That Jake, four drinks into their little catch-up, had been the one to admit he had been having an affair with his dermatologist. That he had no intention of divorcing Abby or letting go of Lorelei. Their talk became words of anger then threats and then blows.

In the end, Abby had been the one to leave. She called Marcus later that night and asked if he knew a good divorce lawyer. He had known the best. A month later, she was divorced thanks to Diana Sydney. And thanks to Marcus. 

In a way, she resented Marcus. The feeling was misplaced, she knew, but the pain she felt when she’d gone home to find a pair of blue high heels in her hallway, followed by a crisp, white button-up shirt, gray pencil skirt, black satin bra and matching thong, she couldn’t help but blame him for it. She could still see the designer label from where she stood, looking down at the bra just outside of her bedroom door. La Perla. The woman had expensive taste, she’d give her that.

Had he not interfered, she would have gone on with her life in blissful ignorance. Would have gone home from work to a husband who smiled when she came home and to a daughter who was happy to see her and not one who blamed her for breaking up their family. 

But he did interfere. And once she had known there was no going back. Once she’d seen it with her own eyes. Once Lorelei was gone and her husband sat at the end of their bed, the same bed that had just been calling out another woman's name, had admitted how long it’d been happening and how he’d fallen out of love with her and in love with another, that was it. 

Her marriage was irrevocably over.

Looking at the dress, she felt a need to prove to herself, and a little to him, that despite being left for someone else, she was still desirable. That she wasn’t the same broken woman who walked away from him in the hospital all those years ago. That she picked herself up and moved on just fine on her own.

* * *

 

If there was one thing Marcus Kane hated more than anything, it was being late. 

He had planned to fly into Vegas the day before he was due to check into the room Thelonious had reserved for him. But due to flights being canceled and delayed because it had been too hot for planes to land, he had just caught the last seat on the red-eye from Honolulu. 

Had he been on the mainland, he could have driven there faster then it took to take a plane there.

His plane landed at just after five in the morning. Tired and a bit pissed off, he decided he’d rather pay extra and check in extremely early at the Venetian than have to change hotels later in the day. 

He stared out the window of the cab as they passed palm tree after palm tree. The lights of the city still on in all their full glamour against the backdrop of the slowly rising sun. He took a deep breath and let it out through his nose. 

When Jaha called him six months back and asked him if he would be his best man at his wedding, his answer had been an immediate, yes. There hadn’t been a reason for him to say no. They’d been best friends since college, studied for the bar exam together. Marcus had been the first person Jaha called after his son’s birth and the first person he called when his wife had died five years later. 

They were friends through thick and thin. It was only when Jaha had begun to list off the people also in the wedding party, that gave Marcus pause.

Abby. 

It’d been years since he had seen her. As hard as he tried, he couldn’t erase the image of her standing in front of him, with her eyes filled with tears, calling him every name in the book, telling him how wrong he was, that he was only telling her what he was because he wanted her. 

However true it was, however much he loved her, he would have given anything -even his love for her- to keep from breaking her heart the way he knew telling her about Jake was.

When she walked away from him that day after telling him how much she hated him, he thought that would be the last words he’d ever hear from her. 

But sitting in his hotel room later that night while drinking straight from a bottle of Jameson, his phone rang. It’d been her. And when he told her he would have his good friend, Diana, call her the next day, silence grew in the line as heavy as his heart and he listened to make sure she was still there, only to hear a choked sob. With his head in his hand, he held the phone to his ear and stayed on the line, listening as she cried. There had been nothing he could have said to her to console her. He was pretty sure she wouldn’t have wanted to hear much else he had to say anyway. 

Once her tears abated, once she’d taken a few deep breaths, only then did she whisper those last words he’d hear from her. 

_ Thank you, Marcus. _

The idea of seeing her now, all these years later, both made his heart leap and his stomach tie in knots. He heard from Thelonious she had moved to LA to be closer to her mother and Callie. There were many times over the years he wanted to pick up the phone and call her but what the hell would he say? 

It was better just to stay away. 

Thankfully, the situation with Jake had come at a time when he’d been offered a job far enough away that his move and new role had occupied a good portion of his mind. But when his things were unpacked, when his job was done at the end of the day, he’d look out his window, watch the sunset and think of her. 

He found it amusing he’d been doing just that when he spoke to Theolonus that night. Long after the sun had gone down did he let himself think about her. He could still remember her dark brown eyes filled with disbelief. He had closed his eyes then, telling himself to let go of the past and look forward to the future. 

When he saw her again, he was determined to see the smile he missed. 

Standing at the reception while waiting to check in, he listened to the tell-tale noise of the casino and though he knew it was stupid, allowed his eyes to roam the lobby. To his disappointment, the only people there were older men sitting at tables reading the paper with their morning cup of coffee, men in suits on their way to work or youngsters coming back from an overnight binge. She wouldn’t have been there so early, but that didn’t stop him from hoping. 

“Enjoy your stay, Mr. Kane.” The dark-haired young woman smiled and slid his keycard across the marble countertop. 

Taking it, he thanked the woman and headed up to his room. He tipped the bellman and once he was gone, collapsed onto the bed. 

Getting little sleep on the plane, a headache started to form a little over an hour ago. What he needed to do was get some sleep before he needed to get ready to meet everyone later that night.

* * *

 

She was early and for good reason. 

Liquid courage, as Callie would call it.

Just one drink to calm her nerves before he got there. 

Up at the bar, she took a seat and smiled at the blue-eyed young man. He placed a square napkin in front of her and with palms down on the bar, asked, “What can I get you?”

“An apple Crown and Coke, please.”

“You’ve got it.”

Not long later, her drink was placed in front of her. She thanked the man who had more patrons to attend and sipped her beverage.

She let the sweet burn go down slowly, savoring it, letting her mind wonder if she would see the same Marcus Kane she had last time. The hair, the beard… She hated to admit it, as she was a married woman at the time, but screw it, her husband had been cheating on her so who the fuck cared...Marcus Kane looked damn good with a beard.

He always looked good if she were completely honest with herself. 

“May I join you?”

A shiver trailed down her spine at the sound of his voice. She swiveled in her seat to find the man in question standing beside her. Her top teeth sunk into her bottom lip. Dressed from head to toe in black, his hair just as she remembered it, same trimmed beard, and God, did he have a tan?

“You may,” she said, turning to face him as he took a seat beside her. 

The bartender chose that moment to ask Marcus what he would be having, and she took the time, while he was distracted, to run her fingers through her hair, letting it fall over her shoulders. 

Drink now in hand, she watched him raise his bourbon and coke to his lips. Her lips pulled up when he took a long drink from it, couldn’t help but wonder if he was as nervous to see her after all these years as she was to see him.

“So Abby…”

“Marcus…”

He smiled, and damn herself for being so weak but she found herself smiling back. “How have you been?”

“I’ve been good. Yourself?” She cringed internally at how formal she sounded.

“Good. It was a bit of a mess getting here but I made it.”

“A mess?”

He nodded through a drink. “I guess the planes weren’t landing here yesterday. Apparently, there is such a thing as too hot to land. I just managed to get the last flight off the island yesterday evening and got here early this morning.”

Her head tilted to the side as her brows rose. “The island?”

“Oh, I don’t suppose you would know. A few years ago I accepted a position at a small firm in Hawaii. O’aho more specifically.”

“Explains the tan,” she said, letting her eyes take him in and when she realized she was staring, turned her attention back onto her drink. “I’m jealous. We don’t see much sun in Portland,”

He caught her looking before because this time, it was him who let his eyes take her in, and she couldn’t say that she minded. “You should come visit. Grab yourself one too.”

“Oh, I’m sure you’d enjoy that. Not awkward at all.”

“You know I’ve been thinking about that actually.”

“Of taking me to Hawaii or the awkwardness?” she teased.

He chuckled and she enjoyed the rich sound of it until he replied, “The latter. Since we’re going to be spending a lot of time together this week I thought maybe we could pretend the past never happened.”

She raised her glass to her lips to hide her smile. That would never work. “Never happened, huh?”

“Nope, we’re just two people who met for the first time in a bar and turns out we’re best man and maid of honor to our two best friends.”

She considered his words, liked the idea of a sort of a do-over for them. “The whole week?”

He shrugged. “Or just for the night and see how it goes?”

Her lips tipped up. “You must not have much faith in us to get past what happened.”

“On the contrary, I do,” he said, then with a crooked smile, admitted, “I might have also thought it would make it easier to get away with flirting with you.”

When she looked back on this night, she wasn’t sure exactly what it was that compelled her more. Maybe it was the dim lighting with the candlelight flickering beside them that gave his eyes, that looked right through her, that dark warm glow. Maybe it was her curiosity. What it would be like to be wooed by Marcus Kane, or maybe, just maybe, she wanted to know if there really had been something there between them.

Drawing her shoulders back, she turned back towards him and said, “All right.”

His eyes held hers and he grinned, looking surprised, but pleasantly so, like he didn’t actually think she’d agree. “Yeah?”

“Why not? We’re in Las Vegas and you know what they say…” she let her words trail off, leaving the ball in his court. 

“That I do,” he said, and she smiled, feeling his hand on her knee, his thumb sweep over her skin before he turned and lifted both of their glasses in the air asking for another.

* * *

 

He had known  _ exactly  _ what she meant, and for the rest of the night they smiled and laughed. Flirted shamelessly with a freedom they never could or would before. Looks lingered, intentional brushes of hands over skin, and the sharing of food. 

The looks their friends had given them told him they weren’t sure what to think of them, but any thoughts or opinions they had on the subject were kept to themselves. 

Whether or not they were able to fully put their past behind them, neither of them seemed to have a hard time focusing on the here and now. Spending time with Abby was easy and effortless. She captivated his attention the moment he walked into the room and surprised him when she agreed to his absurd idea. 

He walked her to her room, at first she tried to insist he didn’t need to, but he reminded her they shared the same floor. She smiled then and tipped her head to the side in a gesture for him to follow. Sure they drank before and throughout their meal, but not to the point where either of them was drunk. Pleasantly warm was how she described it, and he couldn’t help but agree.

The elevator ride up was silent. She pushed the button for their floor then stepped closer to him. Close, but not touching. Close enough he could feel the warmth from her skin and the smell of her perfume, and the sweet, blossom smell was a scent he would willingly drown in. 

When they stepped out into the hall he followed her, stopping in front of 418. 

He tried but failed to bite back his smile. 

“What?” she asked.

He scratched his neck and gestured to the room across from hers. “This is me.”

She bit her lip, and damn him but his eyes followed. “Convenient.”

“So I guess I’ll see you tomorrow at the rehearsal?” 

She nodded slowly, and he felt his neck and face heat as her eyes took him in. She stepped up to him, and the breath in his lungs left him when she placed her hand on his chest. “Who said anything about the night being over?”

He swallowed. She was close, so close he could see the flecks of gold in her warm eyes which shown with, dare he assumed, was the same need he felt deep in his chest. It was all he could do to keep himself from leaning down and taking her lips with his, in the scant space that separated them.

“Abby,” he murmured, lifting his hands and placing them on her lower back, “I know we agreed to forget about everything, but I don’t think I can-” But she drew closer to him until his back hit the door and she was pressed right up against him. He nearly groaned aloud at the feel of her. He’d known her for so long, loved and wanted her for almost as long. Having her in his arms, feeling her against him, wanting him was all he ever dreamed of but as much as he wanted to know what it was to be able to  _ flirt  _ with her, it was entirely another to venture down the road they were headed now. 

Because the road before him lay only heartache. His. 

And while they may have put their past behind them tonight, he doubted they would be able or she would be able to move forward after all they had been through. No matter how desperately he wanted to.

“Come on, Kane,” she said, “You and I both know you've wanted this.”

The richness and clear want in her tone did make him groan. “You're goddamn right I have.”

“What are you waiting for?” she whispered in his ear as she rose up on the tips of her toes, sending a shiver down his spine. “Take me, Marcus.”

His name on her lips said in that breathy sigh was all it took for his control to break. With his lips against hers, he fumbled for his key. Somehow, someway, they made it into his room without ever breaking their kiss. 

His last thoughts later, as he felt her around him, were how she would be his utter undoing. 


	2. Chapter 2

Blinking her eyes open the next morning, Abby nearly forgot where she was, but the feel of a warm body spooned behind her brought back all the memories of the night before.  

Oh, _God_.

What had she done?

She knew _what_ she had done. She’d been fine with doing it once, but then she had gone and _stayed_.

What she should have done was go back to her room. But she'd been so tired and comfortable after they had done what they did so she lingered, and then he started kissing her again and well things heated. Again. Abby honestly didn’t know where his stamina came from, but going from years without sex to multiple mind-blowing orgasms in one night, she sure wasn’t going to complain. And then after they were finished he'd been so damn adorable, so damn _Marcus_ it had been impossible to leave. Not with the way he held her close, kissed her with soft presses of his lips to hers, and looked at her like she hung the damn moon.

It was those same kisses that were being pressed into her shoulder that kept her from fleeing even now.

Abby closed her eyes as his nose nuzzled into her hair and his soft, sleep-filled voice murmured, “Good morning.”

“Morning,” she said, turning her head towards him intent on smiling up at him but found herself falling further, pressed into the mattress with him above her and his lips moving over hers. She hummed, wound her arms lazily around his neck and threaded her fingers into his soft hair. Kissing Marcus Kane was far too easy of a thing to do and while she should have been picking up her clothes along with her dignity from the floor and leaving, she found herself reluctant to go.

But she couldn’t just lie there and kiss him all day. She had to shower and dress and meet Callie for brunch before they went for Callie's final fitting.

Just as she was about to tell him so, Marcus rolled onto his back taking her with him. She smiled against his lips feeling other parts of him also very awake. His palms ghosted down her spine making her shiver. He wasn’t going to make leaving easy on her.

“I have to meet Callie,” she whined.

“It’s still early,” he told her simply.

“It is, but I have to shower and get ready,” she protested, and it was a weak thing even to her own ears.

“You sure you don't have a little more time?” he asked and began kissing a trail down her chin.

She sighed. Technically, yes, she supposed she did. It was early yet, and she was meeting Callie in the restaurant downstairs so she had _some_ time, but they couldn’t keep this up. They couldn’t just keep having sex. They had lives they had to return to at the end of the week. And he lived in Hawaii for God’s sake. What was she going to do, fly there for a quicky? No. It was better if they just ended this now before there were any feelings involved.

“Marcus, what are we doing?”

He chuckled. “Well, Abby-”

She brought a hand up that had been clutching at his shoulder, wound it into his hair and gave a gentle tug. “Not _this_ , Marcus,” she said. “What are _we_ doing? Where can this possibly go?”

“Wherever we want it,” he told her, dropping his head down against the pillow. The gentleness in his warm gaze filled her chest full of warmth. Left her feeling like maybe there was some way...

Her eyes widened. Oh, good God, no.

She groaned and dropped her head against his shoulder. “You’re as infuriating as I remember.”

His arms wound around her back hugged her to him. “And you’re just as stubborn as you were before.”

Raising her head, she arched a brow at him. “Stubborn, hm?” Placing her palms on his chest, she rose to straddle his hips, moving over him just so that her desire for him evident in the way she so easily slid over him. His eyes darkened, his hands squeezing her hips, her name tumbling from his lips in a soft, reverent, “ _Abby_.”

She let his eyes drink her in, and smiled smugly, at the appreciation she found there. She may have had a child, but she kept herself in good shape and though she may not be twenty, she didn’t look bad at forty either.

She tilted her hips and sank on him, her jaw dropping open as he filled her.

 _Oh_ . Why did he have to feel so...  _Mmm, fuck._

Alright, so maybe she would straighten her hair instead of curling it. It wouldn’t be the end of the world.

* * *

Her voice was a low, sexy murmur that made his cock throb when she said, “Maybe I have a little more time.”

He snorted a laugh, and with that, she shifted her hips, slowly rose and sank back down on him. Marcus’s head fell back, and as he did, felt her take his wrists and pin them down on the pillow beside his head. He opened his eyes, and gaze up into hers before she dropped her bow down to his, her lips seeking his as she began to slowly fuck him while all his thoughts blurred and he became lost in the feel of her heat wrapped around him.

“Christ, Abby,” he groaned in time with her deep, breathy, _You feel so good_ next to his ear. Her lips started to kiss a trail down his neck, and it had him turning his head so she could have better access to nip and suck and - _holy fuck,_ he loved her. He loved her for years. He loved her so Goddamn much. “My God, Abby,” he breathed.

She hummed, pulled away, sat up on him and in doing so, released his hands, and it was about time because he wanted his hands on all that naked skin. Her hips sank, took him deep, and his cock throbbed inside her and at her words, “This good?”

 _Good?_ She had no idea. His hands fell from her breasts and grasped her hips. “Better than good,” he groaned. “So much better than good.”

“How long have you wanted to fuck me, Marcus?”

His eyes widened, her words nearly making him come right then and there. “Forever.”

This time when she rose, and he planted his feet and thrust up deep inside her. She gasped, and her eyes widened in surprise right before they fluttered shut. He bit his lip and thrust up again. Her hands fell on his chest, her nails digging in, making him hiss, but the pain was worth it to see the look of pleasure on her face and the feeling of being completely thoroughly awestruck that she was there with him.

His hands gripped the flesh of her hips in time with every rise and fall of her hips. But then she slowed, and he looked up finding her looking down at him with a sort of need in her eyes before she reached for him and breathed, “Come here.”

He wasn’t about to argue. He sat up and her arms wrap around his neck, and they both shift a little so she could wrap her legs around his waist. His hands slide from her knees up and around bringing her impossibly closer.

Having her all pressed against him, fitted snugly together, while their lips brush together softly had his chest filling with so much affection for her he felt it would nearly burst. It was more intimate, more than just a quick morning fuck, but something for savoring, for feeling like they didn’t know where one ended and the other began.

Again, she began to rock, and his hands clutched her backside to guide her down on him. She moaned into his kiss, and he chased it with one of his own. They kiss until they were breathless, and only then did he draw back to gaze at her. Bare and free of makeup, her hair mussed from sleep, and her lips swollen from their kisses. She was beautiful.

Her eyes searched his. “Marcus,” she breathed, and his name on her lips in that moment sent a sharp twinge straight to his heart.

“Abby,” he murmured, and cupping her face, brought her lips to his.

Together they rock with him deep inside her, and her breasts pressed up against his chest, bellies slick with sweat until they reach the edge, gasping into the others mouth from the intensity and then coming and trembling and groaning their release together.

The shower not too long later was hot and more than large enough to accommodate them both. It didn’t take much to lure her there. Not with the promise to keep his hands mostly to himself and it was at that mostly, she had raised a brow and followed after him.

It had been a complete accident that he had her back pressed up against the marble wall while he held her around the middle, his other hand tucked between her legs. In all fairness, she had kissed him first. And now he watched, enthralled. Her brow furrowed and her jaw dropped down open, her breath catching as his fingers circled her.

Her nails dug into his forearm as her hands clutched and splayed along with the tempo he set. And when her soft sighs became moans, he made quicker tighter circles and watched as her eyes flutter closed. Her weight gave a bit, so he held her tighter and whispered, “I’ve got you, Abby.”

She trembled and breathed his name and when he couldn’t stand not having his lips on her sought them and swallowed her cries. She was close, but she hummed and clasped her hand around his wrist halting his movements against her.

He pulled away from their kiss, and it was his turn for his jaw to drop open when she raised her leg hooking it around his hip and murmured, “Inside me.” Swallowing, he stepped forward and lining up rubbed the tip of himself against her, making sure she was ready, and _God_ , was she.

A groan spilled from him followed by, “Fuck, Abby,” and “so good.”

“You too,” she murmured, but he could barely hear it over the spray, and that just wouldn’t do. Grasping her thigh, he urged her other up and she gave a little jump. His other hand came up and grasped the other as she wrapped her legs around his back. Their lips found each other, tongues colliding as they adjusted, as he shifted her up a litter higher... just _there_. The new angle allowed him to go deeper, and she gasped and said his name over and over against his lips, and he’d never heard anything sexier.

His hands came up and cupped her ass and her nails scrape against his scalp and down his neck making a shudder run through him. They weren’t teenagers anymore, and he knew he was going to feel this later but he couldn’t seem to get his fill of her.

“Marcus,” she whimpered, “touch me.”

He smiled, murmured, “Do you want to come again?”

“Is that a serious question?” she asked, with a breathy laugh.

His smile widened, and he pulled back to see into her warm, dark eyes. Biting his lower lip, he slid his hand from her thigh and watched with satisfaction when her eyes widened as is fingers slid over her drawing a deep moan from her.

She pulled him into a deep, tongue-filled kiss as she came and not long after he followed, almost forgetting to pull out but managed just in time and spilled on the shower floor.

They rinsed and dried, and both a bit boneless as they dressed.

She left him with a kiss.

He hadn’t thought she would. After their time in bed and the shower, they talked for a bit about their plans for the day before the rehearsal. He offered to send up breakfast but she needed to go get ready for her day with Callie. Truth be told, he needed to get ready as much as she, having just over an hour before he needed to meet Thelonious.

When she was gone he finished getting ready and took a cab out to one of Las Vegas’ many golf courses. Thelonious met him in the bar and got to his feet at his approach.

“Hey, it’s about time.”

“Sorry about that,” Marcus said, avoiding his friend’s eyes. “I overslept what with the time difference.”

He and Thelonious fell into step beside one another as they made their way from the bar out to the course. “Jet lag really? That’s what you’re going with?”

Marcus looked over at him, years of experience of a defense attorney he gave nothing away. “I don’t know what you’re referring to.”

His friend chuckled. “One of the sharpest legal minds in the country and you’re blaming your tardiness on a two-hour time change?”

They stepped outside, and he squinted into the sunlight. Reaching up he pushed his sunglasses down on his nose, and answered, “That’s my defense, yes.”

Marcus was aware his friend saw right through him, but what he had with Abby he’d like to keep between her and him for now. Quite honestly, he had no idea what the hell it was that they were doing and until he had some kind of word from her, he wasn’t about to breathe a word of it.

Thelonious took a bag of clubs from beside a cart and took one from them. While taking a practice swing, he said, “I’d call out the weaknesses in your defense, however, the truth underlying makes me more than happy enough to allow it for the time being.” Thelonious smiled and held out the club to him.

He smirked and took the club. “Which is why you sit on the bench, and I don’t.”

Another chuckled and then a dark, raised eyebrow. “You ready for this?”

Marcus nodded, took a moment to gaze over the green rolling hills. “It’s been years, but I’ll give it a go.”

“Good man,” Thelonious said with a pat on the back.

For the rest of the afternoon, Marcus drank and played golf and tried not to think about what the fuck he’d was going to do now.

* * *

"Hey, darling, sorry I’m late,” Callie said, breathless after jogging over to their table and kissing her cheek before taking a seat beside her.

Abby chuckled and raised the menu she’d been absently staring at for the last twenty minutes. “You’re fine. I had a late start myself.”

“Oh, good.” Callie took her menu and groaned. “Let’s get food. I’m starving.”

Ten minutes later they gave their orders to their waiter and had mimosas sitting in front of them while they waited. They chatted for a while about the fitting, and how Callie didn’t care if the french toast and double order of bacon she ordered bloated her, she was eating it all.

Abby laughed, but her laugh faltered when Callie paused mid-sip of her drink with wide eyes.

“Abby, what happened to your-” she began reaching over to brush Abby’s hair from her shoulder, then grinned. “Oh my God, Abby… is that a hickey?”

Her hand flew to her neck right before she reached for her purse on the chair beside her. She was going to kill him. “Tell me there isn’t.”

Callie grinned over at her. “You slept with him.”

Taking her compact she checked her neck and sure enough there it was. Right above her collar a blossom of purple. Fuck. She snapped her compact shut and groused, “I might have.”

Callie practically squealed. “Oh my God, why didn’t you tell me you and Marcus had sex?”

Heads turned in their direction and Abby dropped her head into her hand. “Say it louder Callie, I don’t think the busboy in the back heard you.”

But Callie didn’t care who heard. She scoot her chair only the slightest bit closer and demanded, “Tell me everything!”

“I will if you lower your voice!” Abby hissed, absolutely mortified.

Callie giggled. “Okay, I’m sorry.” Composing herself, she oh so nonchalantly asked, “Soooo, how was your night?”

Abby rolled her eyes, and sighed but couldn’t fight the smile that pulled her lips up. “It was… eventful.”

“I knew something was happening. I told Theo as soon as we got in the elevator that was more than just harmless flirting that was,” she paused, looked around as if to make sure no one would overhear her then said, “ _that_ was eye fucking.” Heat flooded Abby’s cheeks and it only fueled Callie on. “God, you’re practically crimson. Was it that good? I mean, I imagine Marcus would be. That broody bad boy defense lawyer thing he has going on.”

Abby gave her a look. “You watch too much crime drama.”

“And you watch too much Lifetime,” Callie returned, then grabbed her arm. “Now stop being so PG and tell me everything already.”

Abby sighed. “Yes, it was good. He’s as much of a sex God that you’ve made up in your mind. There. Is that what you want to hear?”

Satisfied, Callie smirked. “Yes, it is. Thank you.”

Their plates were then set in front of them, and Abby took her napkin from beside her and set it in her lap.

Thankfully, her friend’s appetite gave her somewhat of a reprieve from her twenty questions and Abby was able to get in a few bites before Callie asked, “Are you nervous about the rehearsal tonight?”

She’d been in the middle of a bit of omelet and so she held up a finger, finishing her bite before she replied, “You’re just full of pleasant topics this morning.”

The look she received was nothing but pity. “I tried to get Theo to not invite him, but his parents mentioned it to him when he came and visited last month.”

Abby picked up her drink, and said, “It’s fine. I can handle one night in a room with my ex-husband.”

“And you’ll always have Marcus there,” Callie said letting her words trail off, impossible for Abby to miss their implication.

Her shoulders fell. “It’s not like that.”

“Jake doesn’t know that now does he?”

Her friend was a troublemaker. And Abby loved her for it. But still, she shook her head. “No, I couldn’t use Marcus like that. Not when-”

“The three of you have so much history?” Callie raised a brow. “I honestly don’t think Marcus would mind if you did.”

No, he wouldn’t, but _she_ would. She didn’t want to give him the wrong impression. Not after last night. “But I would. As much as I might relish in Jake’s face seeing us together, everything with Marcus is awkward enough as it is.”

Callie tilted her head, asked, “Awkward how?” then took another bite of french toast.

How did she explain it? She wasn’t even sure how to understand it all. “It’s so easy with Marcus. Being with him. It’s as easy as it was to be friends with him. That spark we had in college hasn’t dimmed, if anything it’s more than it was before.” She sighed, and admitted, “I practically threw myself at him in the hall.”

Callie grinned, delighted by this. “Did he seem to mind?”

“No, but that’s no the point. I don’t do that kind of thing.  Can you imagine what he thinks about me?”

“Um, if he’s thinking anything about you I doubt it’s anything like you’re thinking. Did he give you the impression that he thought any less of you?”

She softened a bit thinking about how he held her close, how his eyes held hers when she finally pulled away from him to leave that morning. “No, but I think less of me.”

“Well, stop because I’m sure he’s still as in love with you as he’s always been,” Callie said, and noting her eyes widening, swat at her, “and don’t look at me like that, you know he is.”

She tried ignoring the way her heart did a double knock in her chest and finished off the rest of her drink. “And another reason why it’s awkward.”

“Look at me right now and tell me you don’t have feelings for him.”

Abby raised her eyes to meet Callie’s. “Of course, I have feelings for him,” she said, then sadly, “just not those feelings.”

Callie held her gaze until she couldn’t take it anymore and looked away. “You sure about that?”

Their waitress came over to refill their drinks and that was where they left the conversation. After that Callie turned the rest of the afternoon into her dress and her overbearing mother and Abby hadn’t had a chance to answer that question even though it was all she could think about.


	3. Chapter 3

As far as evenings in the same room with your ex-husband and his wife went, it wasn't as bad as Abby had imagined it. But that all could have been thanks to the man who had just gone to get her another drink. The one who traded places with Callie's sister at dinner so he could be beside her. The one who kept whispering seductive things into her ear, and using any excuse to touch her. 

When she told Callie she wasn't going to use Marcus; she had been serious. What they were doing was nothing like that. This was them being them. This was years of denying their feelings and the cumulation of that. 

This was flirting. And there was nothing wrong with a little flirting.

And the fact that she hadn’t bothered to cover the bruise of purple on her neck meant nothing either. It wasn’t that noticeable. Most of the time her hair covered it well enough. Though Marcus had noticed it and he hadn’t looked a bit sorry for it.

Men.

“You know, what I think?” Marcus told her returning with her drink and stepping into her space. He was so close she could feel the heat of him and breathe in his cologne that smelled of campfires and pine. 

She looked up into his eyes. Tilting her head to the side, she asked, “What’s that?”

His eyes left hers to roam around the room once before they landed back on hers. “All this pomp and show before getting married is a waste.”

She bit her lip to keep from smiling too wide when she felt his hand on her waist. She should tell him to stop, to put some distance between them but screw it. Who cared who saw them. If Jake cared or didn’t. All she cared about was the man looking down at her like she was the only person in the room. “Oh really? And how would Marcus Kane get married?”

“On the beach. Just me and the woman I love exchanging vows with a few witnesses.”

Oh, well, that sounded… wonderful. “Can’t say I wouldn’t have preferred us being their only two witnesses.”

He hummed a little sound of agreement. “How long do you think we’re obligated to stay?”

“I’ve done my duty here.” She eyed him and he had that look in his. Well, she might flirt with him, but she wasn’t about to fall back in bed with him. No matter how much she might want to. “What about you?”

“I see no reason why Thelonious needs my company. It’s mostly family here now. Do you want to get out of here? Go somewhere for a real drink and something to eat?”

“God, yes.” She took a long drink then sat it down on the bar beside her before catching his eye and taking his arm where he led them from the room.

He was only talking about food after all. 

* * *

“Jake was a fucking idiot,” he told Abby after downing another tequila shot and setting it on the table in front of him with a dull thunk. After the fifth, no-  _ sixth  _ shot he had stopped grimacing at the sour flavor. His taste buds thoroughly as numb as he. “You’re the most beautiful woman on this earth and had I been so lucky to have married you, I would have spent every day of my life making sure you knew that.”

“Would have,” Abby said, raising her own shot glass and tipping it back, “but didn’t.” She picked up a slice of lemon and bit into it, sucked the juice from it then dropped the remains into the empty glass. She had been matching him shot for shot, and quite frankly, he didn’t know how she was doing it. She couldn’t be more than 110 pounds soaking wet, if that. “Such a shame because I think we would have been happy.”

His head bobbed up and down before he sat back in his chair with a wistful sigh. Damn right they would have. Had he beaten Jake to that damn bar just outside of campus he would be the one still married to her all these years later. “We would have been. Deliriously so with three kids and a dog.”

She tipped her head to the side and reached for a chip left over from the chips and salsa they had earlier before their meal. “What kind of dog?”

The answer came to him without thinking. He took a chip as well and dipped it into the remaining salsa. “Something domestic like a Retriever.”

Her lips pressed together, a moment before she asked, “Golden or Lab?”

“Either. Both are great with kids. I just suppose it comes down to short hair or long.”

“Golden Retriever then.” She apparently had enough to eat and sat back in her chair. He looked down feeling her bare feet lifting up and skimming down his thigh, and chuckled moving so she could rest them on him. “These kids of ours… Girls or boys?”

“Knowing my luck, all girls and all fiercely beautiful and independent like their mother.”

But she shook her head, and said, “No, I picture us with a son. After the girls, he’d be the baby. Sweet and gentle, but have that streak of Kane superiority and tidiness much like his father.”

He made a face. “I get the superiority, but tidiness? Really?”

“Marcus, in case you’ve forgotten, I was in your bathroom this morning. You lined up your soaps and brought your own robe. To the  _ Venetian _ , I might add.”

“I haven’t forgotten,” he said trying not to grin like a fool remembering her in his bathroom, more specifically having her up on the bathroom counter-top, but failed miserably. “Alright, it’s settled. Two girls and a boy.”

“Don’t forget our dog and maybe a cat?”

He shook his head. “Allergic.”

“Damn.”

A chuckle left him. “Deal breaker?”

She sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. She looked sleepy, and yet content where she was. Still, he should probably get them back to the hotel so he could tuck her into bed before they drank anymore and both ended up with the worst hangovers. “Nah, I’m sure I’d have gotten over it. Where are we living this deliriously happy life?”

“In New York for a while. But then you got tired of the hustle and bustle so when my job offer in Hawaii came, we packed up the kids and the dog and moved.”

She smiled, closed her eyes, and hummed. “I bet you I have an amazing tan.”

“You do.” He nodded and said, “We all do since we have our own beach.”

“That’s right.” Her eyes opened, met and held his. “It’s a nice little dream. This happy life of ours.”

“It doesn’t have to be a dream,” he told her before his brain could catch up to what he said.

* * *

Her head tipped to the side and she blinked at him. Was he suggesting…? No, he was. With the way he was looking at her, he absolutely was. As drunk as she was, however; she still had some sense. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, Marcus, but we are no longer in our twenties. Three children won’t happen.”

“If that’s your only objection, so we have one instead of three. If we start right now I might get two out of you.”

She laughed, and it felt so good to laugh. Being around Marcus she laughed a lot, it was an easy thing. Something she missed from when they were young. Narrowing her eyes, she considered him. They could get married. It wasn't like either of them had anyone. Neither one of them were getting any younger. She had to admit, she always wanted another child and he did love her. “So we just go get married right now and start living our deliriously happy life?”

“That’s what I’m saying yes.”

She bit her lip, seriously contemplating marrying Marcus Kane. Even though it was crazy.

They couldn't. 

“You’re asking me to marry you?”

“It’s not as romantic as it was in our other life but…” Marcus removed her feet from his lap, and her eyes widened as he moved around the table and got down on one knee in front of her. Tears flooded her eyes and she was helpless to stop them. When Jake proposed it had been so rushed. The music he played was so oud so couldn’t really hear him, he hadn’t got down on one knee. The only way she had known he was proposing was because he had taken her hand and held up a ring. And he certainly hadn’t looked at her the way Marcus was looking at her now. Nervous and dare she say, hopeful? Taking her hand, he asked, “Abigail Jennings, I've loved you from the moment you stumbled into our shared philosophy class. You were outspoken and strong headed and God how much I loved arguing with you. I missed my chance then, but if you'll have me, I'll spend the rest of my life making up for missing all that time. So Abby, will you marry me?”

Her mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out. Her mind was fuzzy around the edges and as absurd as it was the only answer she wanted to give him was, yes. Yes, she wanted all that he described. From the damn dog to the house on the beach, to the three kids they were certainly not having. But oh, how she couldn’t help but want it all.

And what woman would say no to this man? This adorable, slightly drunk man who just poured his heart and soul out to her? 

He did love her. If she was certain of anything, it would be that. It didn’t stop her fear, but right now she wasn’t feeling it as much.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but yes. Yes, I’ll marry you.”

His smile was impossibly big and bright. The last thing she remembered was him rising to her feet, pulling her from the chair and kissing her until they were both breathless.

* * *

He woke to the sun on his face and a warm body draped across his chest, sound asleep. His head pounded. Jesus, he needed Tylenol and strong coffee and about eight or ten more hours of sleep. Closing his eyes, he let his head fall back against the pillow. He remembered the dinner reversal. Jake’s side eyeing him and Abby and his own smirk when the idiot didn’t have the balls to approach either of them. He remembered the flirting and their hands under the table. 

Then suggesting their early getaway to the little restaurant not far from the hotel. There was where the details got fuzzy. There had been food and shots. Many of them, in fact. 

They left and oh… Christ. 

It came back to him in and rush and he lifted his hand to be sure it hadn’t all been a dream concocted by his love-addled mind and sure enough, there it was. The gold band on his finger that put any doubts aside. 

They’d gotten married.

He had asked her and she had said yes. The ceremony had been ten minutes, at best, and then a stop in the jewelry shop as being The Venetian they had a variety to choose from. Then after both of them choosing a modest matching set of wedding bands, they’d come back to the room where she’d been very enthusiastic about getting started on their honeymoon. 

Which explained why she was sleeping damn near atop him, but very  _ naked  _ atop him. As much as he loved having her right where she was, his arm was asleep and killing him. He needed to figure out how to move it without waking her. 

He clenched his fist and shook it as gently as he could but that was all the movement it took. Her head lifted, and she blinked beautifully bleary-eyed at him. 

To his surprise, she smiled. He’d actually been expecting more of a reaction from her. “We ended up back in your bed I see.”

He let out a breath he didn't know he’d been holding in. “Control doesn’t seem to be our strong suit.”

“Obviously.” She chuckled, sleepily. “I have such a headache. What time is it?”

“Just after seven. You don’t have anywhere to be early, do you?”

“No, but I,” her words trailed off as her eyes fell to his chest where her hand had been resting. Raising it slowly, she stared at the band. Hers matched his white gold, only slimmer with seven one-quarter cut diamonds. “Tell me we didn’t.” He raised his hand to show her his, and her eyes widened. She sat up and took the pillow covering herself. “I thought it was a dream.”

“Abby-,” he began, but her groan cut him off.

“Marcus, we’re married?”

“We are. I remember the most of it though there are still some fuzzy parts.”

“Oh, God,” she paused and pressed her fingers to her lips. Her eyes going wide. “That little chapel with the old man and his wife?”

He sighed. The elderly couple they hadn’t stopped kissing in front of… “That was the one.”

She covered her face with her hands. “God, what were we thinking?”

“Well-”

She held up her hand stopping him from saying another word. “No, just don’t. How do we even know it was real?”

He got up from the bed and went over to the dresser where he pulled out a pair of boxer briefs and slipped them on before he made his way over to the entry table where there sat a piece of paper. 

Right where he left it.

Taking his phone from his jacket pocket, he dialed the number to his office that forwarded him to his secretary. Raven wasn't awake or thrilled to hear from him on her week off, but he gave her all the information on their nuptials and after mumbling something about it being too damn early for this she said she’d get back to him. 

He handed the paper to Abby, who frowned at it, studied it while he tried to tamp down his own dread that began to rise in him. She was going to ask for it to be annulled. He knew he shouldn't have gotten his hopes up. Why would she want to stay married to him? Asking her to do such a thing would be asking her to give up her life there in the mainland… but you could move, a voice in his head supplied.

He could. He would for her if that was what it would take.

He loved the home he’d made for himself in Hawaii, but moving back wouldn’t be the end of the world. It was a simple thing really for her. 

He heard her sigh from the bed, and he went over to the table and took the room service menu from it. What they needed was coffee and some food. Perhaps then, once she woke up a bit, they would be able to talk and things might look not as bad. “Do you want something to eat? It might be better if we had something, some bread maybe?”

Her hand holding the paper fell into her lap and she glowered over at him. “How can you think about food right now?”

“Coffee, then?”

She let out a huff of breath and closed her eyes, but nodded before raising her hand to rub her temples. “And Tylenol.”

Amen to that, he thought wryly. “And food,” he murmured while stepping out of the room and into the bathroom in search of one of the hotel bathrobes for her. 

“What?” she called out.

He chuckled. “Nothing.”

When he came back into the room, he stopped in his tracks. She was already dressed and out of bed and standing there wearing his tee from the night before. Her hair fell around her shoulders in soft, silky waves, her head tilted to the side... And was that a smile she had noted the bathrobe in his hand?

“What is that look for?” she asked. 

He blinked, feeling his neck and face heat from being caught staring. “I just like the look of you in my shirt is all.”

* * *

While she warmed from the look in his eyes, she turned away from him and began looking for her underwear. She couldn’t do this. She couldn’t keep doing this to him or to her. Staying there with him and pretending like this wasn’t a big deal was just going to end up hurting them both. They had to stop living this week like everything would be fine at the end because it wouldn’t be. He lived an ocean away from her for God Sake. 

“We can’t be married, Marcus.”

She watched as he stood there, hands on his hips looking like he was preparing a case against whatever argument she put forth. “Why?”

“Because… a number of reasons like… where will we live?” She raised a finger as he opened his mouth to reply, and snapped, “And do  _ not  _ say Hawaii.”

He pressed his lips together like he was about to smirk and tried to stop it. She narrowed her eyes. He failed miserably. 

“Alright, I suppose I could always come back to the mainland.”

She let out a breath through her nose and turned away, searching once again. She had worn underwear, right? She remembered putting them on she was sure. She turned and her shoulders fell. There they were. He was holding out the scrap of red silk for her to take. Argh! Straightening, she took them from him and asked with defeat, “Do you even love me, Marcus?”

His brow furrowed and at that moment she wished she could take back her words because she knew the answer, of course, she did. 

He took a step towards her. “What? How could you ask... Abby, I've always loved you. Don’t you...” He paused, his words trailing off as tears filled her eyes, and spilled down her cheeks. He looked down between them, and she heard the sadness in his voice when he said, “I see.”

God, what was she doing? She… she had feelings for him strong feelings but how could she make him understand? Reaching up, she cupped his cheek and waited until he lifted his eyes to tell him, “No, Marcus, that’s not what… I’ve always cared about you, but the last time I said those words to someone they left me.”

He reached up, his hand covered hers. “Abby, I’d never-”

“Don’t say it, Marcus.” She stood on the tips of her toes and pressed her lips against his. When she felt his arms against the small of her back, she leaned into him, let him hold her against him and draw whatever strength she could from him. She wanted this to work, but she couldn’t stand the thought of being left again, especially by Marcus. 

The sound of his phone broke them apart and he gave her one soft kiss before answering it. He didn’t let her go, only tapped on the speakerphone and held it between them. 

“What did you find out, Raven?”

“Well, I hope she’s pretty boss because it’s a legit license signed by a real minister. There isn’t an easy way out of this one. And can I just say, I can’t believe you drunk idiots managed to go to the Marriage License Bureau and stumble back to the chapel without realizing what the hell you were doing? What the hell do they put in their tequila in the mainland? And they must make a killing staying open that late to give marriage licenses to drunk people? If you asked me, I think you both knew what you were doing-”

“Alright, thank you, Raven,” he said putting an end to the young girl's thoughts though their eye met and neither seemed to be able to hide the truth from them. “I’ll call you back later.”

Her laughter filled the room. “You do that and tell the Mrs. I look forward to finally meeting her.”

Marcus apparently had it because he sighed and took the call off of speaker. Holding it to his ear, he said, “Goodbye, Raven.” He went back over beside her and took her hand. “Look, Abby, we have another few days here, let’s not think about having to deal with right now. I’ll call Raven back and have her get started on the annulment.” 

She arched a brow at him. “Do we even qualify for that since we…”

He shook his head. “We don’t have to tell them that we did.”

“True.” Maybe they could get out of all of this without ruining everything. But a little voice in the back of her mind still wondered if she really wanted out. Again, her words were out before she could stop them. “Did you want this, Marcus?”

The sides of his mouth lifted into a small smile. “I would have like to have been sober, but I meant what I said at that restaurant. I love you, and I want to be married to you, but not unless you want it too.”

“That’s the thing. I don’t know what I want exactly. The only thing I know for sure is that you make me feel things I never thought I’d feel again. Things I never wanted to feel again. What we have is so much more than what I had with Jake and it scares the hell out of me.”

He reached up and brushed his thumb across her cheek. The feeling made her want to close her eyes and lean into his touch. “Do you trust me?”

Her brows furrowed. “Trust you?”

“Right here, right now, in this moment. Do you trust me?”

She couldn’t help the chuckle that left her. “In this moment, yes, I do.”

“Then only think of that. If that’s where we have to start we can take it one moment at a time.” 

She knew what he was saying, and while she felt the pressure come off her by his offer, she still couldn’t know if she would ever be fully ready to trust anyone again. Not with her heart. “We could, but meanwhile you’re married to me now. What if I need more time?”

“Then I’ll wait. I’m not going anywhere, Abby.”

* * *

If there was one thing other than casinos and shows Las Vegas was famous for, it was their strip clubs. Abby couldn’t believe she let Callie talk her into this. It wasn’t that they were at a strip club but all taking a stipping class. Chairs were pulled out, poles gleamed in the bright light while a song with a steady beat thrummed in the background. Thank God for alcohol because she was pretty sure the dance she was being given as a “demonstration” would have made her flush scarlet. 

At least the body spray the instructor named Jasmine was wearing was pleasant enough. 

“See? You’ve got to come up close and arch your back like this, then move away,” Jasmine’s all too sweet voice told her. 

Abby’s eyes rose from the young woman’s cleavage that was still inches from her face and gave her, her best smile. “Thank you. I think I’ve got it now.”

Jasmine beamed. “You want to try it again?”

Abby shook her head. “No, if you don’t mind I’m going to take a break for a minute.”

The woman moved away with a smile. “Sure thing. Let me know when you’re ready and we’ll go grab another turn with the pole.”

Her smile never waned but tightened. “Sure thing.”

Letting out a deep sigh once Jasmine had gone, she pulled her phone from her back pocket. There were a few emails, a text from her mother, and a string of texts from Marcus. She read them all quickly, following along as the groomsmen had been traveling from bar to bar all over the city. 

Finally, she reached the end and replied, _ How’s it going? _

Three little dots appeared and then, _ Thelonious is piss drunk and your ex-husband keeps glaring at me. _

Abby smirked, and feeling emboldened from the alcohol she had consumed, replied, _ Show him your ring. _

_ Pretty sure he’s seen it. _

_ Pretty sure he saw the kiss you gave me when we parted ways too as did everyone else. _

_ What can I say? It came naturally to me to kiss my wife goodbye. _

He added a little winky emoji.  _ Mmmhmm.  _

_ You’re not mad about it, are you? _

She thought about that for a moment and if she were honest with herself, she would have been disappointed if he hadn’t.  _ Honestly? Not really. _

_ Good. How’s it going where you’re at? _

Her eyes lifted from her keyboard and settled on Callie who was laughing and dangling upside down.  _ It’s going okay. Callie is on a pole. _ This time she added a little winky-tongue stuck out emoji.

_ Are you at a strip club? _

_ Oh yeah, _ she typed and chuckled _. And about to have another drink because you wouldn’t believe what kind. _

* * *

An hour later, Marcus slid into a chair at the bar. The music was too loud, and the crowd too young for his taste. But Thelonious wanted to come here, and as best man, he’d felt obligated to see the older man didn’t make a complete fool of himself. 

“How's it going Kane?”

The voice from behind him made his shoulders fall. Jake had been in the background most of the night. Both of them steering clear of one another, staying out of each other's way. “Just fine, Griffin.”

“I see you finally made a move on my wife.”

Marcus turned in his chair and leveled a look at his old friend.

“She hasn’t been your wife for a long time,” he said, then before he could say anything else, glanced down at his phone that started to ring. Abby’s name on his screen. My wife, he thought with a smirk but didn't say. As much as he’d love to continue his current conversation, he’d rather take this call. “If you'll excuse me.” He got to his feet, ignored Jake’s scoff and pushed his way to the door, stepping out into the cool Nevada night. “Abby?”

“Marcus, where are you?”

Christ, where were they? He’d lost track after the last two hops across one street then another. “The Luxor, I think. Where are you?”

“Planet Hollywood,” her voice said sounding dreamy, and slightly slurred. 

“Are you drunk?” he asked already knowing the answer. 

“Extremely,” she answered and this time he did laugh. He would have thought it adorable had she not been miles from him in such a state. 

“Husband of mine can you please come get me?” Her calling him husband hadn't shot a twinge of warmth straight to his heart rendering him nearly speechless in the process. 

“You want me to come get you?”

“Mmhmm... and I’ve just learned how to give a lap dance by professional strippers. Now are you going to come and get me or are you going to keep asking me silly questions?”

His brain slowed, all the blood there surging its way south. “You learned,” he echoed, but her voice cut him off once again. Her words making his jeans uncomfortably tight.

“... to give a strip tease, Marcus.”

Right, he thought, then, fuck it. He started for the street to hail a cab. Thelonious would understand and if he didn’t, he’d get over it. “I’ll be right there,” he told her. 


	4. Chapter 4

Abby woke to the feel of Marcus’ fingertips as they trailed like a whisper up and down her spine the following morning. Thankfully for her, before they’d gone to sleep he had given her some Tylenol and had her drink a glass of water, so the hangover she would have woken up with was significantly less. She really needed to stop drinking so much. 

She kept her eyes closed, let herself be lulled but the sound of Marcus’ heartbeat beneath her ear. It was odd waking and finding herself draped over him for the third night in a row. As much as she protested their relationship, or should she say their  _ marriage…  _ Her lips twitched up. God, she was pathetic. 

“Do we have to leave the room today?” his sleep-filled voice asked.

She let out a sigh and closed her eyes. As much as she wished they could stay in and pretend the real world wasn’t waiting for them outside, they had another reception they had to go to. 

“Callie will never forgive me if I leave her alone with her family.”

He hummed thoughtfully right before she left his lips press a kiss into her hair. “I suppose Thelonious would be a bit put out if I wasn’t there. Will everyone be going?”

She knew what he meant by everyone. He’d mean Jake. Lifting her head, she looked down at him. “No, this is just the two of us and Callie’s family.”

“That’s something then.”

“Don’t tell me my ex-husband bothers you that much?”

“Oh, I can deal with him. The fact is I’d rather spend my time focusing on you and not worry about him upsetting you.”

She smiled, the thought of them standing off to the side somewhere oblivious to the things going on around them warmed her more than she wanted to admit. 

“It’s still really early, you know. We still have time to stay in bed a while before we have to go anywhere.”

“His hand slid down her back, dipped beneath the sheet and gripped her ass. He raised an eyebrow, his lips raising into that crooked smile she loved so much.  “I have an idea of how to pass the time until then.”

“I was hoping you did.”

* * *

His hands wandered down her back to cup her ass, pushing her against him, his hips thrusting up and pinning his hardness between them. 

He wasn’t a normally early riser, but this was a fine way to wake up, he thought before rolling them so she was beneath him. He would spend time that they had making love to her while the sunlight rose and filled the room with its light. He reached down between them and groaned when his fingers slipped easily into her. She was ready, more than ready for him. Her breath hitched as he circled her clit, her head fell back and he dipped his head, kissing his way down her jaw and neck. 

“God, Abby, you feel amazing.”

“I’ll feel more amazing when you’re inside me,” she whispered, right before her hands reached between them, taking him in her small hand making him groan as she stroked him. He had wanted to take his time with her, but she was close and knew what she wanted, and he wasn’t about to deny her. 

His palm slid up and he cupped her breast, loving the feel of its pillow softness and her nipple as it hardened under his touch. He slipped into her wet heat, moaning softly and feeling her tightness around him.

Her legs wrapped around his hips, and he rocked into her. He watched her eyes close as he set a slow, gentle tempo that had her breath hitching and her gasping his name. Her hands clutched at his shoulders. She was close, but he wasn’t going to let her come yet. 

Drawing slowly out of her, he dropped kiss after kiss to her lips. A hum left her, a little noise of disapproval that he chased away as he sank back down into her. 

“ _ God… _ Marcus…” she murmured. “I like that,  _ oh,  _ just like…” He pulled out slowly, so slowly he almost couldn’t stand it before sinking again back into her. “ _ that _ ,” she finished, voice high and tight as her heat closed around him.

He groaned. He loved her so much. Just like this, coming apart beneath him after years of wanting her. 

His lips found hers as he picked up the pace and it didn’t take long before she fell over the edge, their desire for one another and the intimacy of the moment had him following after her. 

* * *

They spent a couple more hours in bed talking and dozing on and off until finally, she was able to coax him from spending the morning with her not solely in bed. Not that would have minded it any other time. Mornings spent in bed with Marcus was something that she was becoming very accustomed to. She pulled herself from his arms with the temptation of coffee and breakfast. The day was bright and warm, and instead of room service, they made a short walk hand in hand to a restaurant along the strip.

The old cafe was a quiet, intimate one. They sat close and shared bites of each other’s dishes, then when they finished, they took a Uber to Callie’s parents’ house just outside of Las Vegas.

“It’s not so bad here. Maybe a little warm.”

His comment pulled her attention from the passing palm trees. He was teasing her she knew because it wasn’t just warm, the sun had finally made its way up into the sky and it was hotter than hell. “It is.”

“How is it in LA? Much the same I would suspect?”

“Not quite as hot. We also have the ocean nearby.” She gave his shoulder a playful bump with her own.

“My firm has an office there.” 

His voice was very nonchalant like it was just a random fact but it made her heart knock hard in her chest and her eyes look up into his. His hand that had been holding hers, pulsed around hers.

“Are you saying you’d come to LA?” She knew there was no reason to put off the conversation that was bound to happen eventually. They were married now, even though Raven had gotten back to him with their options, stay married or get a divorce, she didn’t see them coming to a decision anytime soon.

Leaning down, Marcus pressed his lips against hers. “I’m open to talking about our options. If we plan to keep things as they are for the time being while we see where this goes, I’d much rather be close to you.”

“I feel the same way, but you coming to LA isn’t the only option.”

“No, it isn’t. I’ve been meaning to ask you about it but I knew you wanted to take things slow.” 

“I think we’re far past slow at this point. We both want this to work.” Her eyes held his, and she tried not to let how nervous she was show on her face or in the tremble in her voice when she whispered, “I’m in if you are.”

The next thing she knew, his lips were on hers once again. When he pulled away, he smiled and said, “I’ve always been in.”

Her breath hitched in her throat as a feeling so deep and so real filled her chest for the man beside her. 

* * *

Marcus glanced down at his watch for what might have been the third time in as many minutes. He’d been chatting with Callie’s uncle since Abby left to get them a drink about twenty minutes ago. And in all that time the man had gone on and on about an injury he sustained in a car accident a year ago. Marcus had been happy to give him a few pointers when it came to how he should pursue an attorney, but the man had been nowhere near satisfied with that. Wanting to know specifics Marcus tried to communicate weren’t his areas of law. 

His eye caught sight of Abby making her way over to him and he breathed a sigh of relief right before it caught in his throat. Once the crowd thinned she came over holding the hand of a little girl not more than three with one hand and in her other arm, a baby sleeping peacefully as ever. The sight made his heart swell and his lips pull up into a warm smile. 

He excused himself from the conversation with Callie’s uncle and made his way over to meet her. “I thought you went for a drink. What have you got there?”

“This is Callie’s sister’s new baby, Owen. Don’t give me that look.”

His brows rose. “What look?”

Abby shook her head. “I know what you’re thinking and the answer is  _ no _ .”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

She hummed at him, a disbelieving little thing and he grinned. 

“Up!” They both looked down to see the little girl had enough being ignored. Her hands extended up to Abby, who gave him a look right before she held out the baby.

“Do you mind?”

Marcus pursed his lips and a heartbeat later conceited, taking the baby in his arms. “Guess not. As long as he stays asleep I should be okay.”  Marcus swallowed and looked over at Abby, whose eyes were sparkling. She was clearly amused by his holding an infant. He wasn’t that out of practice. “What?”

“Nothing. I haven’t seen you hold a baby since you held Clarke.”

A light laugh spilled from him. “If I remember correctly she didn’t really care for me holding her.”

She sighed heavily. “Don’t take it personally. She didn’t like being held by anyone who wasn’t her father.”

There was a bitterness in her tone and he decided to let it go for now. Marcus knew from Thelonious Clarke had chosen to stay with Jake in Florida, and imagined how hard it’d been on her. It was something he wanted to bring up, but something that could wait until after this week once they were settled somewhere. 

Abby chatted with the little girl for a few minutes until a woman Marcus knew as Callie’s sister came over to them both. 

“I’ll take him now, thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Marcus said. “He's a heavy sleeper.”

The woman laughed. “Don’t I wish he slept like that all the time.” She outstretched her hand when Abby placed with little girl back on the ground. “Come on, Danny. Thanks, Abby.”

Abby waved to the little girl. “Anytime, Katrina.”

He stepped up beside her. His hand naturally falling around her, onto her hip and he smiled when she leaned into him. “Do you really want children?”

Her question made him looked down at her. “Only if you do.” 

“Marcus, you should really be with someone younger-” 

“Hey, I want you,” he said, turning to face her fully. “Forget that story I told you. The kids… if they’re not a part of this story it’s still ours. If you don’t want-”

“I do,” she cut him off. “I’m just saying if we did we’d have to start now.”

“Right now?”

She licked her lips. And he could see she came to some sort of decision because her chin set and with confidence in her tone, said, “The sooner the better.”

His gaze lifted to the many family members and friends still mingling. “How long do we have to stay at this thing?”

“We have hours still.” He watched as she gazed around as he had before and then startled a little when she took his hand, led him into the house. 

He tried hard not to think about what she had in mind as they walked through the living room and kitchen. Smiling and saying hello to Callie’s grandparents before taking the stairs up to the second floor and down along all to the room furthest away from the noise. 

Abby flipped on the light to a dark room that he realized was a posh looking powder room. 

“Lock the door,” she told him. 

He didn’t need to be told twice. He flipped the lock and as soon as he turned back to her, her hands were in his hair and her lips on his. His mouth opened, and her tongue tangled with his. 

“Here?”

“Why not? Don’t think you can be quiet?”

“Jesus Abby, you’ll be the death of me.” 

He bent down and took her by the backs of her tights lifting her onto the counter. She smiled against his lips. “Let's hope not. I’m not raising these kids of ours by myself.”

He reached up and cupped her face, tangling his fingers through her soft hair and bringing her down for a deep, tongue filled kiss. 

She let out a soft whine, wrapping her legs around his waist pulling him close and grinding herself against him. He chuckled, happy to note he wasn't the only one desperate for the other. 

She drew away from their kiss, his name falling from her lips in a breathy whisper. 

“Fuck. I‘ll never get enough of you saying my name like that.” His fingers dug into the soft flesh of her thighs pushing her skirt up and under where he hooked his fingers around her panties drawing them down far enough for her to kick them off and away.

His hand slid its way between her legs. Her breath hitched and her hips moved against his fingers. He drew a low, drawn-out moan from her and he could feel himself harden even more, watching as her head fell back. “Marcus, I want you.”

“Not yet. I want to watch you come for me first. Just like this.”

Her lips pressed together, and he flicked his finger over her lightly, making those lips come open and her jaw drop slightly. “Marcus...”

Using his other hand, he lifted her blouse up and pulled down on the lace of her bra until her breast peeked out. He greedily latched onto a peak, alternating between sucks and nips… the sounds she made urging him on. 

Later they made their way down the stairs, Abby paused at the bottom to check them both once again and it was a good thing she did. Reaching up, she brushed her thumb across the corner of his mouth where a bit of her lipstick had smudge off. He took her hand when she was finished and kissed her palm. They shared a soft look before joining the party once again.


	5. Chapter 5

“Do you love him?”

She didn’t even crack an eye open to look at her friend. “I do.”

“So now what?”

Abby blew out a breath, shrugged though she knew Callie couldn’t see her shoulders that were currently under her mud bath. “Now we figure it out, I guess.”

A long pause and then, “You’re going to stay married?”

Abby smiled. “We are.”

Callie’s squeals filled the room making her sit up and look over at her sharply. Her friend didn’t look at the looks being given to them by their attendants or her. “I’m so happy for you both. You know what this means?”

Abby eyed her friend warily as she leaned against the side of the tub, her arms dark brown covered and dripping the ‘mud’ all over the floor. “Um, that I have a husband?”

“That we’ll both have husbands,” Callie smirked. “Think about it. We can celebrate our anniversaries together, and our kids can grow up together.”

“You realize Marcus lives in Hawaii?”

This statement brought the first frown to her friends face. “You’d move?”

“It makes more sense,” she began remembering the conversation she and Marcus had the night before. “His practice is there. He has a home. I live with my mother.”

Callie looked as though she was turning it all over in her mind, and so Abby sat back, relaxing once again.

“So we’ll visit,” came her friend's response.

After a moment, it struck her what Callie had said about their kids and her curiosity got the better of her, she asked, “Are you and Thelonious starting a family right away?”

“We’re going to wait a year. He promised to take me to Milan and Paris with a stop in Greece.” Her friend sighed. Abby closed her eyes wondering how Marcus was doing golfing against Thelonious when her friend asked, “You and Marcus want kids, don’t you?”

“We do.”

“I wasn’t sure, after the crap with Clarke and your ex-douchebag.”

Her shoulders shook as she laughed lightly. “I think I might want to give motherhood another chance. And it wasn’t all Clarke’s fault. I spent too much time in the hospital and not enough time with her. It’s only natural she gravitated toward Jake than me.”

“Yeah, sure,” Callie replied though by the sound of her tone Abby was sure she didn’t really agree. “You and Marcus should have more kids. You’re a great mom, and you’d both make pretty babies with lots of hair.”

Abby laughed. They probably would.

* * *

 

“Do you love her?”

Marcus looked up at his friend and smirked. He knew the answer to the question. He suspected Thelonious was just trying to get him to throw off his shot by talking. He squared his shoulders and swung. They both watch as the ball sailed through the air landing closer than Thelonious’ had. Marcus grinned. “I’ve always loved her.”

They made their way over to their cart. “But does she feel the same?”

“She does.” Marcus frowned watching as his friend shook his head. “What?”

“Just seems a bit fast.”

Marcus snorted. This was a relationship long in the making. “Sometimes you just know. We have history.”

“A messy history,” Thelonious stated.

“But a history, nonetheless,” he said. “Now do you think you can make this next shot so we can go meet the girls for lunch?”

Thelonious shot him a look. “I don’t know why I even play with you.”

Marcus laughed.

* * *

Abby looked up just as Marcus and Thelonious came into the restaurant. She smiled at his approach. “Hey there, hubby.”

He chuckled, leaned in and kissed her. “Hey there, wife.”

“If they weren’t so cute together, I might be mad they beat us to the altar,” Callie told Thelonious who rolled his eyes.

Marcus took Abby’s hand. “How about lunch?”

They all made their way over to a table in the back with a view of the Las Vegas strip. Callie and Thelonious talked about how much they had to do that day and about the wedding the following afternoon. Abby listened, but her mind was on Marcus’ hand that rested on top of hers. The caress of his thumb as it slide over her skin. 

She should have been paying attention to the couple across from them but her mind was on her own life. Her Life going forward with Marcus and how she couldn’t wait for this to be all over so they could finally get it started.

His hand tightened around hers and she looked over at him. He was gazing at her, and they shared smiles as their friends continued on oblivious to their preoccupation with one another. 

* * *

After saying goodbye to their friends, Marcus convinced Abby to go back upstairs and have a nap with him. She had given him a look when he suggested it, but truth be told, he was tired. Between the sun and their late nights and early mornings, the lack of sleep was catching up with him.

“My room or yours?” he asked.

“You know, I was thinking of having another bath before we nap, so how about mine?” He nodded, trying not to think about Abby naked in the bath or he’d never get any sleep. She handed him her card for the door, with a little smirk on her lips. He unlocked the door, and she put her hand on his chest stopping him before he could go in. “Why don’t you grab some more comfortable clothes to change into after and join me?”

He smiled. “A fine plan if I’ve ever heard one.”

He kissed her once and turned to go to his room while she went into hers. Thinking of an afternoon with just them hanging around the room and in bed, he grabbed a black cotton tee and a pair of sweatpants.

By the time he returned to her room, she was nowhere in sight. “Abby?” he called out.

“In here. Come in.”

He went into the bathroom and the sight stopped in the doorway. She was naked and facing away from him with her arms up in the air as she pulled her hair up onto her head into a messy knot. He swallowed watching as she stepped into the bath filled with bubbles.

“You coming?” she asked with a light laugh and it was the sound of her voice that broke him out of his trance.

He stripped down and she sat forward enough so he could climb in behind her. The water was hot and soothed his muscles after the week of activity. Gathering her around the waist, he pulled her back against his chest. Her arms came up around his. Leaning his head back, he closed his eyes. This was life.

“Do you have some time after all this is over to go to LA with me?”

His eyes opened. “I do. But are you sure you want to go back with me? I know we agreed, but if you’d rather, I’d move to the mainland.”

Her head tilted to the side, fell against his shoulder, so she could look up at him. She smiled and reached up to stroke over his bearded cheek. “We did say we’d raise the kids there, though.”

Warmth flooded his chest. He didn’t think it was possible, but the love he had for her grew each day. He kissed the tip of her nose. “Yes, all three of them.”

She shook her head. They both knew three might not happen, but he still liked to tease her about it. “You’re terrible.”

“Do you know how happy you’ve made me?” he asked.

The soft smile she gave him made him want to kiss her. “I have an idea.”

He leaned in and she met him halfway.


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning, Marcus checked out of his room and brought his things into Abby’s. There was no reason to keep using both. Not when they stayed in one or the other. By the time he got back, Abby had called up room service after and they spent the morning before the wedding planning their short trip to LA.

“Have you told your mother?” he asked after downing the last of his coffee.

Abby had just taken a bit of toast and held up a finger until she was through. “No. I thought we’d just show up and surprise her.”

His eyes widened slightly. “That will be interesting.”

Her shoulders fell and she looked at him like she was disappointed. “Of course, I’ve told her. She’s happy for us.”

“Really?”

“You look surprised.” She smiled.

“I guess I am,” he told her.

“Marcus, she knows you. She knows our situation. In fact, her exact words were, It’s about time.”

He laughed through a bite of hash browns. Wonders never cease, he supposed. He hadn’t expected Abby’s mother to be upset, but he imagined he’d have some reassuring to do. He even had a speech prepared. It was a shame he wasn’t going to be able to use it.

“That makes things easier.”

She nodded. “It does. My biggest task there will be deciding what stays and what goes.”

“You know you can have your things shipped. I can pay...”

“No, I’m not taking everything. Well, on the other hand, I may have my books sent, but other than that I’m going to donate a lot if my mother doesn’t want to keep it.” She sighed and glanced across the room. “We better get ready.”

His brow furrowed, and he held up his wrist, looking at his watch. “We have three hours.”

“I don’t know about you, but I need to be at the wedding an hour before. I still have to shower. Do you know how long it takes to curl my hair?”

“I don’t, but I’m about to find out.”

“You are.”

He watched as she stood. She wore nothing but a pair of black underwear and his tee shirt. “You want some company?”

“I hear there’s room for two if you’re finished,” she called over her shoulder without looking back.

He grinned and followed after her.

* * *

 

Slicking on a coat of lip gloss, Abby stood back and checked her makeup one last time. Her slight smokey-eye went well with the deep burgundy, sleeveless satin gown.

"You look beautiful," came her husband's voice. 

She turned and found him leaning against the bathroom door frame. Walking over to him, she smiled thinking how he was all hers.

"And you look handsome.” She reached up, straightening his burgundy tie that matched her dress. “I don't think I've ever seen you this dressed up."

He searched her eyes, for what she wasn’t sure, then she felt his hands on her his drawing her close. She sighed when she was fully pressed against him. "Do you regret not doing it this way?"

She let her head fall to the side while she considered him. Would she change things? If she did, would they still be standing where they were now? Would she be going with him to Hawaii or would they have ended up taking things slower? She didn’t know and would never risk it. "I regret not remembering most of it, but we're married and that's all that matters."

"Maybe after we get settled, we can renew our vows?"

She couldn’t help but smile imagining them doing exactly that. Something small on the beach. "You'd be up for something like that?"

"Absolutely." He leaned down, and she rose on her toes to meet him in a soft kiss.

"Maybe we will,” she said when they finally separated.

The wedding was a blur of activity for Abby. As soon as she got downstairs to the room where Callie was getting ready, she already had three crisis' on her hands. One of the flower girls got sick on her cousin's dress. Callie’s mother was beside herself with worry the hotel wouldn’t have her dress cleaned in time, and Callie, bless her, was trying her best not to cry from all the commotion it caused. Abby shooed everyone dressed and ready into the room with the groomsmen with strict instructions not to go anywhere.

She texted Marcus and told her to find her a bottle of wine. Any wine. He arrived five minutes later with a knock on the door.

“What’s this for?” he asked.

“Nerves,” was all she said and sent him away with a kiss.

She found Callie’s mother and poured her a glass then told the wedding coordinator to go check the guests because her friend needed ten minutes to calm down without her babbling about schedules.

When they were all gone, Abby took the bottle and two glasses over to her friend. She sat down beside her at the vanity where Callie’s hairdresser was just finishing up on her hair.

Callie looked over at her with tear tracks on her face. “Hey, darlin’.”

“Hey, babe.” She poured them each a glass.

“Thank you for taking care of that.”

Abby took her friend’s hand. “That’s my job.”

“I’m starting to think you and Marcus had the right idea,” Callie said, then took a sip.

“Hey, what happened before is all over now. They’ll have Jenny’s dress done, your mom is on her way to being nice and relaxed, and Karen is already feeling better. You just focus on you because outside of that door everything is fine. One day you’ll look back on this day and won't remember the ten minutes of chaos.”

“I love you, girl.”

“I love you back.” She squeezed her hand.

* * *

 

The ceremony took no longer than fifteen minutes, and while he was happy as he could ever be for their friends, it was the maid of honor who captivated his attention. She caught him staring at her more than once and though she smiled, gave him a warning look to direct his attention back on the bride and groom. He had, for a few minutes anyway.

When they were finally announced man and wife, Marcus clapped along with everyone else then walked over to offer his wife his arm so they could walk out after the happy couple.

The reception followed, along with speech after speech after speech. He gave his own, one he’d written before the wedding but had edited it slightly. He mentioned his new-found happiness with Abby, and how he couldn’t wait for them all to start this journey with their friends.

After his speech, Abby kissed him, slow and long and if it hadn’t been incredibly rude, he would have taken her back upstairs for the rest of the night.

When they were finished with dinner, he got to his feet and held out his hand. “Care to dance?”

She looked up at him, blinking. “You can dance?”

He rolled his eyes at her. “You’ve danced with me before.”

“A bar with a jukebox doesn’t count.” She stood anyway. “And we were drunk.”

“We do a lot of things when we’re drunk, don’t we?”

She laughed but it died quickly when they saw the couple approaching.

“Congratulations you two.” Jake and his wife came to a stop in front of them. He smiled, rather smugly Marcus thought. “Couldn't be happier for you. I mean, we both knew you had a thing for Abby when we were married.”

His jaw clenched.

“Marcus, let’s go,” Abby said, her hand squeezing his.

He wasn’t going to go just yet. "If by, having a thing for her means knowing I'd give her a better life, then you're damn right I did."

Jake snorted. “ Right, hey who knows, maybe you'll luck out and she'll put you before her job this time."

He heard Abby sigh, and told him, "That's the difference between us. I'd never ask her to do that."

Jake glared at him. "Whatever. Have a nice life."

They left and Marcus turned to watch them both go. "If we weren't at a wedding."

"You wouldn't have done anything because you're better than him,” Abby started drawing his gaze back to her, “and you two already fought about this with your fists once before, remember?"

"It’s a vague memory, but I do remember it wasn’t nearly as good as it should have been."

"You broke his jaw."

That made him smile. "Did I?"

“Come on,” she tugged on his hand, “dance with me."

* * *

Whoever Callie hired as a DJ could do his job. At most weddings she’d been to, there was always at least one or two cheesy songs in between the really good ones but not this guy. She and Marcus must have spent at least an hour dancing from one love song right into the next with a few faster tunes that left them laughing against one another until the romantic mood returned.

At one point, she thought, she couldn’t ever remember being this happy.

Her gaze shifted over to the center of the dance floor where Callie and Thelonious were. "She looks beautiful."

“She does,” Marcus replied, “but it's my wife I can't take my eyes off.”

She laughed. "Flatter."

He drew away, so he could look at her. "What do you say we get some cake and get out of here? Go back to our room, enjoy the night alone before we have to go?"

Go. Leave Vegas and start their lives together. She took a deep breath. "We're really doing this. You and me."

"You and me, and eventually, our dogs and kids." He gave her that crooked smile she loved so much.

Rising up on her toes, she lifted her hand and with fingers threading through his hair she brought his head down so she could kiss him. "What are we waiting for?"

  



	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is, the very last chapter. Thanks for all your patience waiting for me to wrap this up. I’ve adored this story and reading all your comments and enthusiasm for it. Thank you to all who left feedback and kudos. But for those sad it’s the end, there will be a part two sometime this summer after I wrap up a couple more stories so keep an eye out. Also, pronunciation is Ka-LAY-uh. You uh, might want to know this. ;)

Epilogue

_ Almost three years later _

"Momma! Daddy! Look it! A seashell!"

Abby smiled at her two-year-old daughter's pronunciation of sea coming out more like  _ she _ . Her long brown hair that fell to the middle of her back blew with the slight Hawaiian breeze. She held up the white shell for her to take. "Oh, that's a wonderful, baby girl."

"Up, Daddy," she demanded her arms up in the air towards Marcus.

"Yes, Miss." He laughed, reached down and hoisted her up onto his hip. "Up you go," he said and kissed her cheek making her giggle.

They continued their walk along the shore. Marcus arm that wasn't holding their daughter found its place once again around her back. His hand settling on her hip.

She sighed feeling relaxed and content. "I can't believe it's tomorrow already."

He smiled over at her before kissing her cheek. "Are you ready to marry me again?"

She looked out over the ocean as the sun began its slow descent. Rubbing a hand over her six-month pregnant belly, she laughed. "I'd rather be a little less pregnant, but yes, I am."

"It just makes you look all the more beautiful."

She made a face. "To you."

"Momma, swim?" her daughter asked, pointing out at the water.

"Not tonight, sweetheart." Abby reached over and tucked a stray curl away from the toddler's face. "We have to go home and get ready for the party tomorrow."

Abby expected her to protest, but she only yawned and settled her head on Marcus' chest.

"Someone's tired," he said smiling ruefully.

"Told you a walk would do it. I don't blame her, though. With all that's been going on, shopping with Callie and mom, I'm tired myself. If I laid down I could go to bed right here in the sand." Marcus laughed. "I don't remember Kalea wearing me out this much. Must be a boy."

"I thought our third was supposed to be a boy?"

"Marcus, I'm forty-three. This is it. And technically our second girl is coming towards us with her ball."

Marcus looked over at their dog who was momentarily distracted by something in the sand, and called, "Ellie, come here girl." She grabbed her ball once ag was in and barreled toward them. Only one year old, she was still very much a pup and full of endless energy. "Good girl," Marcus said when she dropped the ball at his feet. He gently bent over with the skilled movement of a parent not wanting to disturb their comfortable child and threw it in the direction they were headed.

They watched Ellie run after it and after a few silent minutes passed by he asked, "Do you think Clarke will use the ticket you sent her?

Abby had been wondering that herself. Two months ago she sent Clarke a letter telling her about Marcus and life on the island. She asked about her, how was school, and how she was now that she was on her own. Along with the letter, she sent her a plane ticket and a reservation to a room near their home.

She never heard back.

"I don't know. I hope so. It would be nice to see her."

His arm made its way back around her. "If she doesn't come at least you know that you tried. She might just need some more time. But don't worry about it. She'll come around, eventually."

"Who knows maybe she will come?"

"She might."

"I just wish I wasn't enormous when I saw her."

"Clarke isn't going to care, and you're not enormous. You have a bit of curve that I am by no means complaining about."

"You just like how big my boobs have gotten this time."

The grin he gave her was lecherous. "I won't deny enjoying them."

"I feel like a porn star."

He snorted, jolting Kalea awake but only for a moment before she turned her head and settled back against his chest. "You're nowhere close to a porn star."

She was about to reply when a jab against her rib made her breath hitch. She pressed her palm on her belly rubbing over the little foot.

Marcus stopped beside her. His brow furrowed in concern. "You okay?"

"Yes," she quickly reassured him with a smile. "Your child is just stretching out. I don't think he likes these walks of ours."

They continued down the beach. "I'm sure she just can't wait to get out and walk with us."

"Nope. Not yet. I get to keep him for myself another few months." Their house came into view and he held her hand as they made their way up the stairs that led from the beach to their property. "You know what name I like?"

"What's that?"

"Jonas."

He pursed his lips and after a minute said, "I like it."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." He leaned down and kissed her then opened the door. "Ellie, come on."

Their sixty pound German Shepherd went in first, made a beeline for her water bowl.

Abby looked over at her baby girl, sound asleep in her father's arms. "She needs a bath before we put her down."

"If we do you know she'll be wide awake for a while."

"I know, but there's too much to do tomorrow and she hates baths in the mornings." Abby reached out for her. "I'll be fine, I need one too. Give her to me."

His lips fell into a pout. "What if I wanted to take a bath with, Mommy?"

He shifted Kalea into her arms, and she pressed a kiss to his lips. "You can take one with me tomorrow," she promised, knowing her mother would be taking Kalea for the night.

* * *

He made them sandwiches and got Abby the bbq chips shed been craving since she found out she was pregnant.

"Marcus? Can you come get Kalea?"

"I'll be right up."

He put things quickly back in the fridge and took the steps upstairs two at a time. In the master bathroom, he smiled finding his pregnant wife sitting on the edge of the tub in a towel braiding their daughter's hair. Kalea's eyes widened seeing him, she called out, Daddy! in that eager little excited voice she got just before she launched herself at him.

"Stay still one more minute, baby girl. I'm almost done," Abby told her.

Marcus went over to them and knelt down in front of his daughter. "Hey, sweet pea."

"Daddy," she started in a soft whisper, then turned and pat Abby's stomach that wasn't entirely covered by the towel. "Momma's belly has baby."

He smothered a smile and nodded. "I know."

She lifted up her rainbow pajama top, looking down at her own belly. "My baby?"

He met his wife's amused eyes then shook his head and told her, "Kalea's belly has no baby."

"No baby?" she asked with a small crease between her eyebrows that was so Abby it nearly knocked him over. She looked between her tummy and Abby's adorable perplexed as to why her momma did but hers didn't.

"Nope. You, little miss," he told her lifting her up in his arms, "can't have a baby until you're at least thirty."

Abby scoffed. "Right, Marcus."

"Daddy's gonna lock you in the house as soon as you turn thirteen and throw away the key." He held up his hand and made a show of tossing the invisible key behind him.

Kalea gasped and looked over his shoulder as though he really threw something away. "Uh oh! Where it go?"

"I don't know," he replied his tone matching her excitement. "Let's go see if it's in your bed."

"Save some cuddles for me," Abby called.

He paused just outside the door. "Daddy always saves special cuddles for mommy."

Abby smirked. "I was talking to Kalea."

He laughed all the way down the hall.

In Kalea's room, he let her down, and she ran over to her bookshelf grabbing Little Owl's Night from the top.

He tucked her in then kneeled down beside her bed reading the familiar words he knew by heart. He heard Abby's footsteps behind him and moved back, so she could lie down beside Kalea who was more than happy to snuggle up against her.

She and his wife listened while he read and just as he finished the last page, Kalea's eyes slipped closed. He closed the book and placed it on her nightstand. "She must have still been tired. I thought it'd take another round of this and Goodnight Moon."

Abby brushed the baby hair away from Kalea's face. "I didn't think it would take too long. That's why I didn't mind waking her up to get a bath. After playing all day with Rebecca out in the sun she's one worn out little girl."

"She certainly loved playing with her, though. She's going to be a great big sister."

Abby hummed in agreement. "Callie sent me pictures of them when we were out today. I'll show you later."

He watched Kalea sleep for a few moments then asked, "Think we can sneak out?"

"I think we can risk it. Help me up?"

"Always." He took her hand in his and pulled her up gently. Once she tucked the blankets back around their daughter and they were out in the halm he told her, "I made you a snack."

Abby groaned. "Have I mentioned how much I love you?"

He chucked down the stairs. "Not in a while."

They reached the bottom, and she turned to wrap her arms around his neck. "I love you."

He kissed her sweetly then replied against her lips, "I love you."

In the kitchen, he grabbed their plates, and she got them out two grapefruit La Croix. They went into the living room and ate while watching the local news. After they were both done they snuggled up together on the couch with Abby's head on his shoulder.

"Should we finish that series we started?"

Abby yawned. "Which one was it?"

"Lost in Space."

"The one I keep falling asleep in the middle of?"

He laughed and kissed her brow. "That's the one."

"Sure why not?"

"It's a good show, you know."

"I believe you," she replied sighing. He smiled. She'd be out in ten minutes. Fifteen tops. "Sci-fi just isn't my thing."

"I know, and I appreciate you almost watching it with me." He laughed. His chuckles came to a stop when he felt a little kick where his hand was resting on her belly. He'd been feeling him before, but usually, the baby settled down after Abby got comfortable. It was in the mornings when he was most active. "He's moving around a lot tonight."

Abby's voice was light, sleep-filled, but he could hear the smile in it. "Finally coming around to having a boy?"

He was, but he wasn't about to admit it. "Let's just say I trust your motherly intuition. I really do like the name by the way."

"I'm glad." She hummed and her breaths becoming more deep and even.

"You want to go up?"

He felt her shake her head. "Not unless you do. I'm comfortable here."

"One more episode," he said.

"Okay."

"Love you," he murmured.

"Love you, too."


End file.
